[yvonne]

If it were a player from any state other than Florida, Texas, or California, I'd say "big deal," but this kid's from De la Salle, so it is a big deal.

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_...p?id=28428

[yvonne]

If it were a player from any state other than Florida, Texas, or California, I'd say "big deal," but this kid's from De la Salle, so it is a big deal.

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_...p?id=28428

[Redrum]

Which says a lot about his athleticism and skills,  but it also shows what lots of other evaluators and coaches think:  Hooper is a DE in college.  But Stanford is listing him at TE initially.  If Smythe had committed to Stanford,  we might have seen Hooper listed as a defensive recruit.  Maybe.

Anyway,  one of the guys who actually knows the game [ is a working football coach] rated all the players in this class in a Bootleg post.  Of our three TE recruits [ Hooper, Cotton, Taboada] he rated Hooper as the best, most ready to play in 2013. Gave him a 60% chance of playing as a freshman,  mostly because his blocking experience and skill are pretty advanced.  Also noted that Hooper is not flat-out fast, but has a burst of speed that gets him open.

[Redrum]

Which says a lot about his athleticism and skills,  but it also shows what lots of other evaluators and coaches think:  Hooper is a DE in college.  But Stanford is listing him at TE initially.  If Smythe had committed to Stanford,  we might have seen Hooper listed as a defensive recruit.  Maybe.

Anyway,  one of the guys who actually knows the game [ is a working football coach] rated all the players in this class in a Bootleg post.  Of our three TE recruits [ Hooper, Cotton, Taboada] he rated Hooper as the best, most ready to play in 2013. Gave him a 60% chance of playing as a freshman,  mostly because his blocking experience and skill are pretty advanced.  Also noted that Hooper is not flat-out fast, but has a burst of speed that gets him open.

[washingtonismoney]

Chip wanted Hooper as a TE. If our guys want someone as a TE, and Chip wants that same guy as a TE, then as far as I'm concerned he's a fine TE prospect.

[washingtonismoney]

Chip wanted Hooper as a TE. If our guys want someone as a TE, and Chip wants that same guy as a TE, then as far as I'm concerned he's a fine TE prospect.

[washingtonismoney]

Chip wanted Hooper as a TE. If our guys want someone as a TE, and Chip wants that same guy as a TE, then as far as I'm concerned he's a fine TE prospect.

[washingtonismoney]

Chip wanted Hooper as a TE. If our guys want someone as a TE, and Chip wants that same guy as a TE, then as far as I'm concerned he's a fine TE prospect.

[washingtonismoney]

Chip wanted Hooper as a TE. If our guys want someone as a TE, and Chip wants that same guy as a TE, then as far as I'm concerned he's a fine TE prospect.

[washingtonismoney]

Chip wanted Hooper as a TE. If our guys want someone as a TE, and Chip wants that same guy as a TE, then as far as I'm concerned he's a fine TE prospect.

[Redrum]

I never said he wasn't a fine TE.  Neither did the coach I cited, who thinks he likely to play as a freshman.  He's no Coby Fleener and maybe not Zach Ertz, although I don't know where Ertz sits on the TE Speed Scale.

[Redrum]

I never said he wasn't a fine TE.  Neither did the coach I cited, who thinks he likely to play as a freshman.  He's no Coby Fleener and maybe not Zach Ertz, although I don't know where Ertz sits on the TE Speed Scale.

[washingtonismoney]

Not specifically criticizing you -- sorry if it came off that way. Just wanted to point out there were a number of coaches that liked him as a TE.

(Though an interesting side note: I remember Shaw said last year sometime....He was was asked in an interview, "How do you find these athletic TEs?" And he said something like, well, it's hard -- but if you can convince them, a DE is an excellent way to go. We've done it with Kaumatule, we're going to do it with Hooper, and we wanted to do it with a recruit we missed on, Jordan Sherit.)

[washingtonismoney]

Not specifically criticizing you -- sorry if it came off that way. Just wanted to point out there were a number of coaches that liked him as a TE.

(Though an interesting side note: I remember Shaw said last year sometime....He was was asked in an interview, "How do you find these athletic TEs?" And he said something like, well, it's hard -- but if you can convince them, a DE is an excellent way to go. We've done it with Kaumatule, we're going to do it with Hooper, and we wanted to do it with a recruit we missed on, Jordan Sherit.)